AI exposure: Animal Scientists
Conduct research in the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, growth, and development of domestic farm animals.
Reading this score
computed42.6% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Animal Scientists at the 76th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.6 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 9 tasks it averages 2.00 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and..., at 73.3%. The least is Crossbreed animals with existing strains or cross strains to obtain new combinations of..., at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 17 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 9 tasks, 6 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 1 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
9 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.43 | exposed |
| Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts. | 47.5% | 27.5% | 25.0% | 4.36 | exposed |
| Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.57 | exposed |
| Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Study effects of management practices, processing methods, feed, or environmental conditions on quality and quantity of animal products, such as eggs and milk. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.32 | exposed |
| Research and control animal selection and breeding practices to increase production efficiency and improve animal quality. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 4.39 | assisted |
| Determine genetic composition of animal populations and heritability of traits, using principles of genetics. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.21 | assisted |
| Crossbreed animals with existing strains or cross strains to obtain new combinations of desirable characteristics. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.86 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.56 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.22 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.56 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.11 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.00 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.94 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.